Governing body confident of modern pentathlon’s future as IOC decision looms

The sport which traditionally featured fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross country running, has been part of the Games since 1912 but was left out of an initial list for Los Angeles 2028.

Representative Image: Pentathlon -- invented by modern Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin -- will be on the programme in Paris in 2024 but is under threat for the 2028 edition in Los Angeles. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Modern pentathlon is confident about its Olympic future beyond next year’s Paris Olympics having evolved into a more inclusive and dynamic sport by replacing horse riding with obstacle racing, the head of governing body UIPM told Reuters on Friday.

The sport which traditionally featured fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross country running, has been part of the Games since 1912 but was left out of an initial list for Los Angeles 2028 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Having endured heavy criticism after a German coach struck a horse that refused to jump a fence at the Tokyo Games, the UIPM axed riding and voted to replace it with obstacle racing last year in a move criticised by traditionalists within the sport.

But UIPM President Klaus Schormann believes obstacle racing will open up modern pentathlon to more athletes and that he had a “positive feeling” as the IOC prepares to decide the sport’s Olympic fate in October.

“We clearly have this feeling that we will continue in the Olympic programme,” Schormann told Reuters in a Zoom interview from the world championships in Bath, England. “We’ve presented all that the IOC has asked for.

“At the Under-19 world championships in Istanbul (in July) they had two observers who also interviewed the athletes. They could see the way in which we have prepared in a short time a world championships for the youth.”

MASS EXODUS

The sport, created by modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin, will continue in its old format in Paris but some athletes including reigning Olympic champion Joe Choong have suggested there could be a mass exodus after 2024.

“There are maybe some athletes based on their age or their career, who will finish. In every Games, you have a handful of athletes who do but we have a lot of new athletes. If you look at the numbers it has increased enormously,” Schormann said.

“National Olympic committees have come to us saying ‘Now we can go with modern pentathlon’. Before, they said ‘No, it’s not possible. We have no horses... no resources. We don’t have the money.’ But for this they do.”

Schormann said obstacle racing - where athletes run and overcome obstacles in timed competitions - can also be combined with other disciplines to create non-Olympic events that can help develop the sport further.

“We have the laser run,” Schormann said of the multi-sport competition comprising running and shooting. “You can combine that with obstacle. We have so many more possibilities.

“We see already the investments countries are making now, speaking with their governments. It’s very interesting that city governments are asking us what kind of obstacles we can build in a sports park.

“So that’s another new possibility. It never would be with the horses but something that obstacle racing has given us... We are just taking the first steps, but as you can see we have the right shoes to go on the right track.”